Sahana Rao

Focus on what matters most.

FAME India a non-profit organisation for children with disabilities faced a huge challenge when the pandemic hit. Their students from low-income families, lost access to essential therapy due to educational centres being shut. As a designer passionate about this issue, I wanted to create something that could help.

Overview

Helping parents find therapists and manage care, making therapy easier and empowering.

Designing an app that could help parents find therapists and manage care through AI support, making therapy easier and empowering.

Discover

I surveyed and interviewed over 30 parents and staff from FAME India

FAME India is a non-profit that works to improve the quality of life of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) by providing interventions that are life-long, deep and holistic. Here is what I found:

77%

of participants reported limited access to therapy professionals.

90%

said that the childrens' condition were affected by this.

77%

of participants reported limited access to therapy professionals.

90%

of participants said that the childrens' condition were affected by this.

Discover

I surveyed and interviewed over 30 parents and staff from FAME India

77%

of participants reported limited access to therapy professionals.

90%

said that the childrens' condition were negatively affected by this.

Key Insight

Caretakers need more support managing children’s conditions.

Research validated my initial hypothesis and revealed another opportunity: leveraging AI to provide much needed support for the caretakers. After completing an AI checklist to assess its relevance and necessity, I found that AI could be highly effective in this context.

Image Source: Fameindia.org

Image Source: Fameindia.org

Competitive Analysis

Provide direct access to therapists while empowering caretakers to manage their needs independently.

Research

Creating research based personas

Based on insights from the interviews, I developed two user personas to guide my ideation and identify the key features the app should include.

Caregivers

Needs

Learn how to manage her daughter’s therapy routines at home
Feel supported, informed, and connected with a community

Frustrations

Lack of clear, accessible therapy plans tailored to her child
Difficulty coordinating multiple care routine
Little to no support or guidance between therapy sessions

Professionals

Needs

Reach families who need support
Manage appointments and patient notes efficiently

Frustrations

Difficulty finding consistent freelance work
Not sure where to look
Time-consuming manual scheduling and follow-ups

Ideation

Redesigning What Didn’t Work

Redesigning from cold to playful and engaging

The first version, inspired by medical apps, felt cold and dull. I realized that users who are under so much stress, needed something playful, uplifting, and easy to use.

The first version, inspired by existing medical apps, felt cold and dull. I realized that users who are under so much stress, needed something playful, uplifting, and easy to use.

From

To

Final Designs

Explores two main features, detailing their unique benefits and how they address user needs.

Key feature - 1

Daily Care Guidance

AI Assistant that personalizes guidance for managing daily care routines

Recommends activities for each condition
Suggests adaptive activities based on progress
Sends reminders and encouragement daily
Connects with therapists for actionable insights

Recommends activities for each condition
Suggests adaptive activities based on progress
Sends reminders and encouragement daily
Connects with therapists for actionable insights

Key Feature - 2

Therapist Matching Support

Helps families connect with the right therapist based on their unique needs

Helps you filter by type of therapist, like speech, occupational, or behavioral
Offers smart recommendations to help you choose with confidence
Shows availability and communication preferences to make coordination easier

Helps you filter by type of therapist, like speech, occupational, or behavioral
Offers smart recommendations to help you choose with confidence
Shows availability and communication preferences to make coordination easier

Final Walkthrough

Here’s a walkthrough of the app — starting with onboarding guided by our AI assistant, followed by how caregivers can access daily activity support, set helpful reminders, and search for specialists and therapists tailored to their child’s needs.